48, Frederick Street

48 Frederick Street is a manufactory built around 1870, with minor alterations made in the late 20th century. The building is constructed of red brick, featuring blue brick decoration and painted dressings, topped with a slated roof that has a central, off-ridge brick stack.

The design follows a Venetian Gothic style, with a near-symmetrical street frontage that stands two storeys above a basement. The façade consists of six bays, with doorways located in bays one and six. The main entrance is on the left in bay one, featuring an arch-headed overlight above the door. To the right end bay, there is a wide goods doorway with a steep pointed arched head. The basement has four lights with shallow segmental arched heads, while the ground floor windows are fitted with 2 over 2 pane sash frames positioned between narrow brick piers. These windows have a continuous painted cill and linked, painted brick arched heads, including the main entrance. The first floor windows also have a painted cill band above a blue brick band, with cogged brick detailing below the window openings, and feature 2 over 2 pane sashes. The building is topped with a deep bracketed eaves cornice that has acanthus leaf decoration between the brackets. At the rear, there are storeyed warehouse and workshop ranges.

Historically, the site was part of the garden of a large detached house to the north, as shown on the Piggot-Smith map from 1855-61. The existing building appears on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map, and in that same year, it was listed in Kelly's Directory as being occupied by jewellers and watch manufacturers. This manufactory forms a group with No. 23 Frederick Street and No. 47 Frederick Street. It is a well-preserved example of a small purpose-built manufactory designed for multiple occupancy, showcasing the distinctive architecture of Birmingham's specialist industrial quarter, which is now recognized as being of international significance.